A/N: Oh look I'm on time for once, that's new XD. And look, Kiddo's pov! Things are getting intense folks! (Well, hopefully they are...) I'm not too happy with how this turned out, I haven't been happy with any of my writing as of late, but hopefully it's okay and you will enjoy anyway!

Chapter Twelve

The Prince Is Down

'Damn it'.

Getting stabbed wasn't in the plan.

'Only in the left side though? They could have at least had the courtesy to-'

Focus!

Wincing, Kid's hand wandered to where the blade had entered. Most of the knife was buried in his side, only an inch of the metal was not in his flesh. A warm pool of blood was already beginning to stain his jacket, darkening black fabric as it poured from the wound. The pain was going to be problematic. It was embedded into his side pretty deeply, too. Any higher and it would have been rammed through his ribs into his lung.

That's inconvenient...

The pistols were no longer in his hands. That was bad. Unlike himself, they wouldn't fare to well against a knife in their sides. Patty was holding onto his shoulder tightly, shaking it slightly. Liz had both hands on his forearm. Their screams filled his ears, and as much as he appreciated their concern it was really quite distracting.

'They'll be hurt, too, if I don't do something right. Now.'

His hand wrapped around the blade's handle. After he sustained an injury of this magnitude, it dulled his senses considerably. His inner reaper kicked in, and as a result everything else took a back seat. The burn of his flesh already beginning an accelerated healing almost surpassed the pain of the initial stab. Which wasn't exactly comfortable; it had shocks of pain wracking through his frame. Any deeper or higher and he wouldn't have been able to stand. Stopping his knees from buckling was problematic as it was. "It's fine," was all he could try and say, to stop the two pistols shouting at the top of their lungs. Even so, he only managed to mumble.

But Liz picked up that he'd said something, through the noise they made. "Kid! There's a fucking knife in your side! How the fuck are you still standing? What do you mean you're fine? How. Are. You. Fine?" Her words tumbled over each other as she frantically shouted at him. Unfortunately, now wasn't the time he could answer her.

Maybe he should have explained before they left for a mission.

A sharp pain clawed from his side to his chest, as blood drained heavily from the wound. He knew he had to get the blade out, but that didn't necessarily mean he would enjoy it. From behind him, he heard the stabber step back, apparently satisfied. "Pfft, they're kidding right? They sent a kid!" An uproar of laughter followed the lead of a gravely voice. It was hard to tell from the way the sound bounced from the walls, and by how shaken his soul perception was, but there had to be at least twelve others. Not including the soul who was, at first glance, in his stomach. That blade was a demon weapon. That only made matters worse.

Liz's colourful vocabulary was now directed at the man. "You fucking stabbed him! Patty, transform, I'm killing this bitch!"

"No!" Kid gasped out. His hand found hers to grab her attention, and with the movement came another stab of anguish. He found whatever he could muster to ignore it. That blade needed to get out of his side right now. Or his body would try and heal around it.

It happened to him, once, and removing that blade was an experience he would not like to relive.

The sour taste of copper was rising in his throat, and as he coughed as it trickled past his lip. "Just wait." He choked out to Liz, who was apparently too shocked to do much more than stare at him, jaw stopping mid-curse.

"I'm not just any kid." Kid allowed himself a moment of smugness before he pulled the knife from his side in a swift movement. A growl passed his lips as a pointed wave of pain shot through his torso. His knees threatened to give out as he doubled over, but he only allowed himself to stumble. Another spurt of blood gushed out of the now freely-bleeding wound. But that was the least of his problems right now. It could be dealt with later.

Any laughter from the kishin group was ceased; even the snide voice directly behind him had gone quiet. In fact, in direct contrast to mere seconds before, the area was in dead silence.

The blade slipped through his fingers as the wavelength emitting from it protested his hold on it. "What kind of guy is this?" a woman's voice snapped, red ribbons of light swirling around the blade before it hit the floor. The voice turned from metallic to clear as she transformed, light ripping through the air into ivory chunks of bone straight hair. She looked down at him with narrowed eyes, violet in colour. But she did back off, moving to stand behind him with the stabber, obviously her meister, and he felt it was a pretty good guess to say the stabber was Urban. But the weapon's wavelength was so much more powerful than his... Perhaps they were wrong about who was in charge...

There was no time to consider it. Right now, all that mattered was collecting the souls and getting the hell out of here before the disarray made him any more uncomfortable. Not to mention the wound in his side, and every other distraction clouding his thought process. Overall, the situation wasn't at all ideal. He supposed, however, he'd fought against higher odds. And now that Liz had decided to reach out to his soul, they pistols might be able to inflict some damage.

Only one way to find out.

"Liz, Patty, transform." Kid held his hands out, the gesture impatient. The girls could get their explanation in due course. But they were now in a life or death situation. And, for now anyway, they would have to listen to him. Until they had a better understanding, they would have to follow his lead completely. Even if they didn't like it.

Which Liz clearly didn't. "But, Kid, you-"

Kid narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, in a stare that might have been a bit too venomous. It was for her own good, he told himself. If they were hurt, then he would fail them, and he would absolutely not let that happen. But if they weren't pistols it made them a lot harder to protect – doubly so if they refused to listen to him. "Liz." He growled lowly. "Please."

Patty glowed next to him, without even a word. Liz followed suit, the worry on her face changing to the look of a scolded child, and she too transformed. In a flash of pink they were pistols in his hands.

Standing back to full height, he felt the pain in his side evening into something bearable. A few of the people around him staggered backwards in shock, a few more leaning in to wonder if they were seeing properly. Urban, who possessed a soul much weaker than his weapons, stood stoic. "We-we stabbed him Nisha... What the fuck...?"

But the woman only seemed to find amusement. A cold laugh passed her lips, and Kid turned to face the pair. His soul perception wasn't so chaotic, and he could now say for sure that there were sixteen other souls around him. Take away the sisters', and that was fourteen inmates whose souls needed to be collected. He would have been relieved at the smaller than expected number, had it not been for the strength radiating from each one. There was no doubt in his mind that they were already at the three star stage. Not good.

And aside from a few oddities, they'd maintained human forms. So they had mutated very quickly, and very powerfully. He should have been expecting that.

But it wasn't the inmates who were worrying him, nor was it Urban. It was the woman, Nisha. Her soul was by far the strongest, and her black painted lips twisted into a sneer. "Oh, I get it now." Flipping a white strand of hair out of her eyes, her gaze burned against Kid's. Amethyst meeting gold. "The lines. Those eyes. You're the reapers baby, isn't that cute~?" She spoke with an obvious flair of condescension. That sent warning bells off to Kid – to recognize him merely from his hair and his eyes meant she was far too well informed. His existence was kept quiet when he was younger, he knew that much. For enemies to know of Lord Death's son, a reaper much weaker to have revenge on, was something his father had deemed too dangerous. But it was impossible for him to stay a secret for very long. After he was old enough to complete missions, there weren't many of importance who didn't know of him. Still, his father had told him that only higher-ups would be able to recognize him from appearance alone. So how could she?

"And just who are you, then?" Kid ventured. The other inmates seemed pretty confused about the whole situation, but that was only beneficial. The more confused and distracted they were, the easier they would be to fight. The realization that the other half of that cell door to his far left was completely decimated clawed back into his head, but the thought along with any consequent ones was chased away by another laugh.

The woman straightened her coat. The movement made Kid notice that she wasn't just the only one not wearing a prison uniform. Her clothing was extravagant, and obviously expensive. She was dressed in a coat that was purple, so dark it was almost black, and boots that made her much taller than she actually was. It was as if she had happened to wander through the wreckage of a prison-

Ahh. I see now.

"My name is Nisha, the demon blade. It's quite an honour, little Death." A sly smile spread across her face as she curtsied. "You are quite small, aren't you? So very young, even if the blood of a god runs through your veins. Or rather, flows from that wound of yours." With an extravagant flick of well jewelled fingers, she raised her hood over the white of her hair. Nisha held a certain air around her, one that meant all the inmates were hanging onto her every word. So they had been wrong about two things: this wasn't an inside job and Urban wasn't the ringleader. Interesting, but it just made the situation more dangerous. This was a bigger operation than was first assumed. He was sitting precariously, as it was. The pistols in his hands may be of barely any use to him in a fight, and if they chose to attack while he was surrounded like this then the odds were stacked against him.

If he could keep this woman talking, then he might be able to get some information out of her. But it was already clear she was cunning, that she had already prepared for Shibusen forces. And the fact she was so well informed was certainly unsettling, and he knew he'd barely scraped the surface. "The pleasure's all mine, Nisha." Kid said dryly. "What, may I ask, is a lady like you doing in a place like this?"

Liz hummed nervously in his palm, but he soothed her with a flicker in his wavelength. It's fine. I have this under control.

"Now, baby reaper." Nisha tilted her head to look down further on him, Kid's question quite obviously ignored. And the way she referred to him as an infant was already becoming irritating. "I think we should play a game."

So, she was trying to toy with him. She's put me in a position, he thought, where I have to play along. Surrounding him like this, moving the inmates to a position where it would be stupid to even try and fight his way out, she had him in her palm. Kid had no option but to cooperate with her for now.

It was then that it fully dawned on him. I've walked into her trap. One that was set up before I even got here. If I was human, I'd probably be dead already.

Damn.

"I can't say I'm inclined to agree with you." Kid widened his feet subtly, his grip on the pistols tightening. Both of the sisters responded readily to the change in stance. Even though relying on bullets at this point could prove fatal, it was an opportunity to see how they fared against tough opponents. Ideally, they would have started with enemies he would be sure to beat bare-handed, for insurance reasons. But this wasn't an ideal world.

"Well that's funny, because you and I both realize..." Kid could do nothing as two souls behind him moved closer, and a staff aimed at the back of his neck. So Nisha wasn't the only weapon. But she was the one he had to be most careful of. "...that you don't have a choice." The humour drained from her voice as she finished, and she gave a flick of a nod to whoever was standing behind Kid. The staff prodded between his shoulder blades, and he had to focus to try and keep a straight posture. Magic energy radiated from the weapon at his neck. He tensed reflexively, adrenaline causing his muscles to tighten. Even if he decided to retaliate now, one shot from whatever magic the staff held, and he would be down. There was no way he could move quickly enough. "I wonder how many holes we have to punch in you before you're on the ground. You know, I've always wondered what it would sound like to hear a shinigami beg for mercy." Nisha sneered at him, and took a step forward.

The emotion flowing from Liz's wavelength to his was becoming increasingly difficult to sync with. The way it fluctuated was making it hard for them to hold the already precarious resonance, and at the moment, a lot of the energy Kid was using to keep it intact was needed elsewhere, just to keep him standing straight. Calm down, Liz. He tried to sooth her anger, all the bitter emotions that were causing her soul to shake. It was hurting Kid, and probably Patty as well, to feel how distressed Liz was. She was almost having a breakdown. As he sent calm through their small connection, telling her over and over 'Its okay, its okay', he hoped there was some way for it to work without actually speaking. Never reveal your weaknesses to the enemy, after all.

But he barely succeeded – she was refusing to listen. The noise, the way her soul kept slipping from the grip it had on his, was drowning the connection Kid had with Patty. It was becoming harder to sense what the younger sister was telling him through their connection. Kid began to panic himself, because both externally and internally he felt completely powerless. The air was too thick, the effort of holding the resonance together causing his head to spin and his side to ache. For a gut wrenching moment the whole world was closing in, and he simply couldn't find any order in it at all. It was the same feeling he had when his wavelength had repelled against the sisters', that awful, sinking feeling...

Breathe.

Focus.

I will get those girls out of here. Even if it is my last act as their meister.

Kid took a deep, sighing breath. He could have a meltdown later. It was him who had dragged Liz and Patty into this, and they were getting out of here safely. And if that meant he had to play a stupid game to please some sadistic kishin weapon, then so be it. "You're right, Nisha. I don't have a choice. So what is this game you want me to play?"

Nisha stood much closer now, only about an arms length away. "No, no, little one, first we need to restore the power balance." She placed a manicured hand underneath his chin, a single digit pressing against his skin. It was making him extremely uncomfortable, and his first instinct was to jerk away. But with the weapon pressing at his neck, he would have impaled himself. So he merely looked straight at her, refusing to show weakness by looking away. Apparently, she found great delight in this. "Hmph. Now get on your knees, I want a god to kneel before me."

Before he could even think, Liz shouted out, "As if Kid would kneel for a bitch like you! Who do you think you are?" Her face glimmered in the cool metal of the pistol, an expression of absolute disgust on her face. She had been simmering, anger building up against Nisha, and now she'd boiled over.

Kid ground his teeth together. "Liz, quiet!" he hissed. There was no way he could let Nisha's attention turn to the sisters. If she was focused on him, then she might not try and target them. It would be much easier to make sure they were safe that way.

Unfortunately, Patty joined the rebellion too. "Hey, stupid knife lady, there's no way you can beat Kid!" The younger pistol smiled, but it wasn't the same way she had before. It was almost... maniacal. "We'll be the one shootin' you full of holes!"

"Hmph. Those pistols of yours have attitudes," Nisha hissed, only baring a glance at the sisters. It seemed she was more focused than Kid had thought. Her attention would not leave him. "If you won't kneel willingly, reaper, I'll do what has to be done. And you've forced me to demonstrate my resolve." Her face darkened, eyes taking on a dangerous glare. "Now, kneel." She spat the last word, nodding to the man behind Kid before removing her hand. With the click of a high heeled boot she took a step back.

There was barely enough time for Kid to realise why she'd backed away, and only a beat longer to drop the pistols to the floor.

Her grin was the last thing he saw before a searing, burning pain ripped through his whole body.

The agony caused his head to be thrown back and a scream to tear from his throat. White hot lightning filled his vision, and a sickening crackling filled his ears. The magic entered his body from his back, tore through him, and scorched an exit burn on his chest. Every nerve in his body was on fire. All the energy, everything that Kid had left to give was ripped from his body, replaced with the violent sting of electricity. Never before had he been hit directly with anything like this. It was the most immense pain he could ever remember. Every second felt like hours to try and endure.

The flashing caused his eyes to become smothered in a glare, the noise of cracking filling his ears. Even the sound of his own screams had been drowned out. Kid fought to find a breath of air, but his lungs were empty, throat raw from crying out in a way he hadn't in a very long time. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't breathe in. And so, he found himself suffocating. It caused him not only intense pain, but intense fear. He was utterly powerless, and if this kept up for much longer...

When he was about to tear, the lightning pushing the limits of even the body of a god – the crackling turned to fizzing. And the fizzing died out. The flashes that had consumed his vision were gone, replaced with a glare. Patty was calling out to him, desperately, and even if he heard her voice the words she said were indecipherable. Through the tether of connection he had to Liz there was something. But it was so soft, in comparison to what he knew of her, that he couldn't make it out. No, he couldn't hear the sisters, he could feel them. And their anguish was strong enough for him to pick up through even their slim tethers of resonance.

Before he could gather his thoughts properly, he was curled on the floor. The taste of bile and copper rose uncomfortably in his throat. And what he was sure was blood trickled over his teeth and past his lips.

Not good.

Not good at all.

Each breath he took was shuddering, and he wanted nothing more than to give into the darkness clawing at the edges of his vision. It was Nisha's voice that gave him something in the waking world to cling onto, and the chance to regain his senses. "Now, you will kneel, or you will die. And we'll kill those guns of yours, too; it is a shame that they got you in this position in the first place..." Her voice was so tainted with malice that it gave Kid resolve. There was one thing he knew for certain, she could do whatever she wanted to him, but she wouldn't touch the girls.

So he found the strength to move onto his knees. Somehow, through the miracle that is the body of a god, he was able to move a palm flat onto the concrete. Then his other, then a hard push against the ground to get his chest up. He felt more blood dribbling over his lip with the movement, but he paid it no mind. With all the energy he could find, he found a way to kneel. His pride didn't matter to him at all right now. There were more important things.

Nisha laughed bitterly. "I have brought a god to his knees!" As she stepped to leer over him once again, she took a hold of the fringe of his hair, pulling his head up. Kneeling down, she forced him to meet her eyes. "Now, will you play my game, like a good little child?"

Kid hadn't met many enemies like this woman. And he didn't think of himself as someone easy to anger. But she sent his blood boiling, because the way she acted was nothing short of sick. Disgusting. Filthy, unbalanced, asymmetrical.

And he would teach her why it was dangerous to pick a fight with a Grim Reaper.

A flame ignited in his soul, his shinigami instincts kicking in. The lingering ache, the sharp stings that still echoed through his bones were drowned in a wash of adrenaline. His body was working hard to find a quick fix to the many injuries he had and to give him all the energy reserves he had. It was going to hurt later – he wasn't getting off scot-free – but it would do for now. Taking a heaving, deep breath in, Kid was able to talk with only a slight shake in his voice. "Yes. Tell me your rules, and I will play."

Your soul is mine.

Nisha almost squealed in delight. Dropping his hair, she clapped, signalling to some of the inmates who'd been watching, amused. "I knew you'd see it my way! Now, it's quite simple, almost too much so." As she began to explain, Kid reached to the pistols on the floor, finally having a grasp on them again. He had to instantly suppress their wavelengths, because he couldn't spare the energy of communicating with them. They'd get explanations and apologies, plenty, later. "Now, here's what will happen. My friends here are going to set up a barrier using artefact magic, from which neither you nor I will be permitted to leave. At least, not until one of us is dead." She smiled, as two other inmates stepped forward. One was holding what looked to be a set of scales – a bowl on either side of an hourglass, with several pieces of ancient spells written in symbols on the silver. Kid recognized it immediately.

He'd read plenty of books about artifacts such as this. It was created by an enchantress who lived thousands of years ago, way back when genies were still around. Using the aid of witches who shared the interest in magic tools, the Great Enchantress Titania made many objects manipulated with forbidden spells. Her work was famous. But only among the evil. The objects she made were dangerous, faulty, and used illegal magic, so her soul was collected. Only a few of her pieces survived Lord Death's annihilation of them, the ones that did being lost track of. There was no doubt it was the real thing. And the fact Nisha had gotten her hands on it made her all the more suspicious. How long had she been under Shibusen's radar?

"This piece was simply titled 'Bloodied Sand.' And I think you'll understand the name." Nisha took the device, placing it on the floor delicately. "It covers the radius of the prison. You already know how it works?"

"Yes." Kid coughed, sitting up slightly. "She created three of these, it was her favourite." He was sure only he and Nisha knew who 'she' was. "Our blood is placed in either scale, and the sand turns red. The barrier is set, and if one of us is not dead by the time the hourglass finishes, we both die." So many hexes were on this one object in front of him that is was ridiculous. He could feel the evil magic practically falling off it.

"Ah, you haven't disappointed. That's a good boy." Reaching to grab hold of his hand, her finger transformed into a very small blade. This was worrisome. She could have other weapon forms beyond just a simple knife, and there was no doubt in his mind now that she was very good at using them. Kid didn't let go of Liz, who was in the hand that she had grabbed. From now on, he would not let either of the sisters go. It was too dangerous.

With a swift movement, she pushed his sleeve back, and sliced a clean gash on his forearm and her own. The pain Kid felt was mild compared to what he knew in every other nerve in his body, and Nisha didn't react either.

"Now," she began. "Let's play."

A/N: Damn, Kid. I'm sorry, you got stabbed and then shot with bolts of lightning...
Oh wow, not much longer to go now. My plan was for there to only be two more chapters, but I'm writing more because there are a few things that I want to put in that were ideas initially dropped, because I thought they were too ambitious. Nisha was one of them, and I sincerely hope you're enjoying her character. Isn't she just deliciously evil?